31st July Mt Isa

 kms today 456            kms to date 8632

I was woken this morning by the Bush Turkey's getting excited by the sprinklers.  There were dozens of them cackling away.  I was last night there were 1000's of budgerigars at the back of the campsite as well.

I took off at 8:30 and it took about 2 hrs to get to the Queensland border.  The countryside was changing all the time from low scrub to open grassland and later treed and undulating. There was a big border station on the NT side but nothing on the QLD side.

Barkly Tablelands - You can see the curvature of the earth on the horizon

I learned later the reason why there were no trees in this landscape. The soil is volcanic in origin and has been slowly washed to the west from the Volcanic Provinces to the East.  This soil is highly reactive and shrinks and swells a lot due to changes in rainfall.  The movement in the soil will break trees roots and prevent trees growing, whereas native grass can thrive.

I stopped at Cammoweal just over the border for fuel and lunch. There was a big queue of 4WD's waiting for diesel, but I was able to skip round them to the the Premium.  There were Police around, not for Covid border pass checking, but to keep order in  the queue for fuel. This is the only petrol station between Barkly Homestead and Mt Isa, a distance of 460kms.

I arrived in Mt Isa at 2:30 and checked in at the Irish Club.  This is the third time I've stayed here and my room has been recently renovated.  I was also able to do some much needed washing in an excellent laundry.

I rushed to the Mt Isa Fossil Museum and it had changed quite a bit since 2010, but was still fascinating.  Riversleigh, the fossil site that is World Heritage listed, is the source of the specimens.

 

A fossilised snake skeleton looks like a necklace

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This interactive image of a Megafauna would dance if I danced and just as badly

I called Morag and she has got to the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, but unfortunately the bus trip into Purnululu NP was booked out.  She is going to try and get a ride with someone with a 4WD.  She is starting to find that there is so much tourist traffic internally in WA that attractions are getting booked out well in advance.